# Get a shortlist of applicants worth interviewing. > What a useful interview shortlist looks like, how many names to put on it, and how a hiring assistant builds one for you. HTML page: https://www.bkkstaff.com/id/hire/interview-shortlist JSON: https://www.bkkstaff.com/id/hire/interview-shortlist.json A café owner posts a barista job and gets 70 applications. She doesn't want 70 files. She wants to know who she should call this week. Three or four names, and why. That short list is the whole point of screening. Everything before it is just work. What a useful shortlist has A list of names isn't enough. For each person you need: Why they made the list. One line on the must-haves they meet. What they said in follow-up. Start date, hours, pay range. The things a CV doesn't tell you. Anything to watch. A long commute, a short work history, a gap. Better to know before the call. And a line at the top that tells you how big the pool was. Four people out of 70 means something different from four out of six. An example This is a demo. The names and details are made up to show the format. Barista: 70 applications, 4 to interview Candidate A (strong fit). 2 years at a specialty café. Can work 7am starts. Lives 10 minutes away. Candidate B (strong fit). Trained barista. Said in follow-up she can start next week. Candidate C (good fit). No café job yet, but finished a barista course. Clear, friendly answers. Candidate D (good fit). 3 years in a hotel restaurant. Watch: only free 4 days a week. 66 others have been sent a polite decline. How many names should be on it? For most jobs, three to six. Fewer than three and you may have nobody to fall back on if your first pick says no. More than six and you're back to a pile. If you're hiring several people for the same job, aim for about twice the number of people you need. How to use your shortlist Call within a day. The people on your list are probably talking to other employers too. Ask everyone the same questions. It's fairer, and it makes them easier to compare. Check the "watch" notes first. If the long commute is a deal-breaker, find out in the first two minutes. Keep the runners-up. If your first pick falls through, you have people ready. Having someone build it for you Imagine giving your job post to an assistant and getting the page above back a few days later. You never opened the 70 applications. You never wrote the 66 declines. You just picked who to call. That's what a hiring assistant from BKKStaff does. Applicants use your hiring link or apply-by-email address. Your assistant checks each one against your must-haves, sends follow-up questions, declines the ones who aren't a fit, and gives you a shortlist with notes like the example. You get an email as soon as someone is ready to interview. Your assistant can't make people apply. If your job gets few applicants, or none of them fit, you'll know early from your updates, so you can change the post. It costs $99 USD for one open position for 30 days. See pricing. Common questions What if nobody is good enough? Your assistant won't pad the list with weak people. If nobody fits, you'll see that in your updates, and you can change the job post or your must-haves. Can I ask about someone who isn't on the list? Yes. Everyone who applied is kept in your applicant list. Ask and we'll tell you why they didn't make it. Do I still run the interviews? Yes. You choose who to meet, how to interview, and who to hire. If you add a booking link, people on your shortlist can pick an interview time themselves. The shortlist starts with screening. See how your assistant handles resume screening, or what to do when you have too many applications.